911 Media Arts Center, still keepin it real

Recently I was able to e-terview Peter Mitchell, Communications Directorfor 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle. 911 has been a focal point inNorthwest new media for years. The following are excerpts from ourdiscussion on new media art, the Pacific Northwest and video.

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* basically I would like to hear your feelings on what's going on inseattle.... in access, education, video, digital editing, cd-rom,internet broadcasts... any type of new media being used in a creativeway.

I can't really say what is going on in Seattle in general except toobserve that a whole lot of people are making money doing web content onthe Eastside [of the Seattle area, i.e. Microsoft, Starwave, etc.]. Itseems like half of my friends are doing stuff for internet deliverythese days. The coolest content to me seems to be the live broadcaststuff like what's happening at http://www.mountainzone.com.

* what's 911 all about?

I could give you some boilerplate:

911 Media Arts Center is Washington's only non-profit (501c-3) culturaland educational organization that supports the creative uses of media ascommunication and art-making tools in a democratic society. Our missionis to promote decentralization and participation in the media arts, andto make media and media literacy an integral part of thecommunity-building process. We believe that everyone should be active,not passive, media users. Therefore, 911 provides the resourcesnecessary to empower and educate people to critically analyze andproduce their own media. Our name comes from our original location - 911Pine St. - where we were founded in 1984 to help artists and audiencesexpand traditional definitions of art and connect art-making to dailylife.

I could also put it in my own words:

We have low cost tools, training and interaction opportunites tocultivate a community of mediamakers. Our tools are primarily video withand emphasis on the digital realm.

* What sort of work is exhibited in your venue?

We show independent video of all sorts from around the world. Theschedule rotates on a bi-monthly basis. The only constant is that everywork shown is of independent origin.

* have you ever collaborated with other Seattle art institutions likeCOCA [Center on Contemporary Art], the Speakeasy, NorthWestCyberArtists, or other groups/venues?

Sure, we collaborated with the NorthWest CyberArtists in 1994 to produce"Beyond Fast Forward: A Creative Convergence of Art and Technology" aweekend interactive art fair at Seattle Center. We estimated that over4,000 people checked out the art and computers on display that weekend.Lectures were presented by some of the early interactive art gurus likeGreg Roach.

Our space has served us fairly well over the last few years, however weare beginning to outgrow it and the neighborhood has begun to outgrowus. A giant REI sporting goods store opened across the street. Thehomeless shelter we used to share our building with has been convertedinto a rock climbing gear store for the lycra crowd. Rumor has it thatluxury high rise condos and high end retail is going to replace theGreyhound station next door. I fear that Seattle may outprice it's onlymedia-art creative resource.

Our space functions in so many ways: classroom, movie theater and posthouse. On the weekends we sometimes rent it out for parties, informativegatherings, theater, etc. There is a unique eco-system at risk here,kind of like the rainforest.

* Do you feel that enough resources are available for local artistsworking with technology?

There are some amazing resources available here at 911 that I amsurprised that more people don't take advantage of. Our power mac 9500is probably the fattest fastest cheapest mac in all of Seattle. One ofour producers said it was better than the system over at Pinnacle atabout a fifth of the price.

* who would you cite as doing interesting work in the northwest?

One of our members, Sean Brinsfield has been following the cult ofAmachi around Northern India for the past four months. He interviewedthe prime minister of India. Another of our members has been making awork about an all womens group of trapeze artists in Paris called"Dizzy."

* any thing else you want to mention?

Embracing digital has helped our little non-profit arts centertremendously. We started jamming with an HTML publishing class justabout three years ago, our web site went up two and a half years ago andwe switched most of our editing systems to digital in 95. For the firsttime in our history we have equipment that is comparable to the high endpost houses in town instead of working with their castaways. Just toknow that someone can access our web site as easily as say microsoft.comlevels the playing field a bit. It is an amazing time to be involved inmedia.